Summer Cooler Cake

This is peak retro summer entertaining. An angel food cake gets placed inside a fluted mold, surrounded by fruit cocktail and strawberry gelatin, then chilled until everything sets into a jiggly, fruity showpiece that unmolds like a jeweled crown.

The assembly is clever. Fruit cocktail goes into the bottom of the mold first, then a layer of gelatin. The angel food cake goes in topside down, pressed gently into the gelatin. More fruit cocktail gets spooned around the sides, and the remaining gelatin pours over the top, seeping into every gap and air pocket in the spongy cake.

As it chills for four hours, the gelatin penetrates the angel food cake, turning it from dry and airy into something cool, moist, and fruity all the way through. The cake acts like a sponge, absorbing the strawberry flavor while maintaining enough structure to hold its shape when unmolded.

Brush any loose crumbs off the cake before placing it in the mold. Crumbs in the gelatin make it cloudy instead of clear and jewel-like.

Kitchen Tips

• Use a 12-cup fluted pan (like a Bundt) for the most dramatic presentation.
• Press the cake down gently into the gelatin. Too hard and you’ll compress it; too light and it won’t absorb enough.
• Chill the full 4 hours. Under-set gelatin will collapse when you unmold it.
• To unmold, dip the pan briefly in warm water and invert onto a plate. A quick shake should release it.

Variations

• Use orange or lime gelatin instead of strawberry for a different color and flavor.
• Swap fruit cocktail for fresh sliced strawberries and blueberries for a more elegant look.
• Serve slices with a dollop of whipped cream or a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk.